What is the significance of jesus being born in bethlehem

The deepest meaning of the littleness and insignificance of Bethlehem is that God does not bestow the blessings of the Messiah--the blessings of salvation--on the basis of our greatness or our merit or our achievement. He does not elect cities or people because of their prominence or grandeur or distinction. When he chooses he chooses freely, in order to magnify the glory of his own mercy, not the glory of our distinctions. So let us say with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest!

We get the joy. He gets the glory. Website: desiringGod. Share this. Why Bethlehem? Mark , the first New Testament gospel to be written, makes no mention of Bethlehem and simply refers to Jesus of Nazareth.

Early Christian converts who relied on Mark's Gospel had no reason to believe that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and would likely have believed that Nazareth was his birthplace. Although its author would have known that Luke's Gospel placed the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, John appears to suggest that this was not the case. John : Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? John They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. So, we have one gospel whose author was unaware that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and one gospel whose author seems not to have believed that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

We then have two gospels, Matthew and Luke , that place the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, although the two nativity stories could hardly be more different. Uta Ranke-Heinemann says in Putting Away Childish Things , page 7, the nativity accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are, with respect to time, place, and circumstances, a collection of legends, a view shared by many other New Testament scholars.

This is to say that the two authors, writing independently of each other, knew the importance of Jesus being born in Bethlehem and wrote to that effect.

Matthew is based on the words of Micah Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. What is the significance of Bethlehem as the place of Jesus birth? Ask Question. Asked 8 years, 11 months ago. Active 1 year ago. Viewed 20k times. Improve this question. Narnian Narnian Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes.

Improve this answer. In the case of Joseph, since he traced his lineage to David, who was born in Bethlehem 1Samuel , he had to go to the city for the census. What time of the year did the Roman census take place which forced the family of Jesus to travel to Bethlehem? Was it in the middle of winter as is depicted in many Christmas scenes?

The Holy Bible Faithful Version offers interesting insight in regard to when such travel to Bethlehem took place. It states, "The taxation and census decree by Caesar Augustus was carried out according to the Jewish custom which required that such taxes be collected after the fall harvest. Thus, Luke's record of this taxation reveals that the birth of Jesus took place during the Autumn" Appendix E.

The Romans conducted censuses in Palestine during the fall so that they could maximize the amount of tax revenue they collected from the people. Barney Kasdan, in his book "God's Appointed Times," wrote regarding Rome that they took censuses at a time convenient based on local customs.

In short, it was far better for the Romans and Israelites to handle taxes in the fall of the year, when it was easier to travel e. Nazareth to Bethlehem as opposed to the middle of winter. God used Rome's desire to collect as much tax revenue as it could, coupled with a Jewish fascination of their ancestors, to fulfill an awesome prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem!